


Mutually Assured Distraction

by Ghost_in_the_Hella



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Boundaries, Consent, Enthusiastic Consent, F/F, Fluff, Fluffy Smut, Maxturbation, Mutual Masturbation, PWP, Safer Sex, Sex Education, Smut, brief discussions of trauma and triggers, idiots to lovers, pricefield, psa disguised as smut, psa here meaning pubic service announcement, seriously though how is Maxturbation not already a tag, sex ed disguised as smut, smutty fluff, sweary
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:21:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26567254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ghost_in_the_Hella/pseuds/Ghost_in_the_Hella
Summary: Max tosses a pillow at Chloe, which only clips her shoulder lightly as she laughingly ducks away. “I didn’t know you were going to be early! I thought I had time!”“Alright, alright, well, I guess I’ll go outside and grab a smoke or something and you can come find me when you’re, uh, done.”“No pressure or anything,” Max mumbles under her breath.Chloe starts heading for the door, but her steps slow before she reaches it and she turns around to face Max again. “Or…”---The only thing more embarrassing for Max than reading smutty fanfiction is getting caught reading smutty fanfiction by her crush.
Relationships: Maxine "Max" Caulfield/Chloe Price
Comments: 23
Kudos: 91





	Mutually Assured Distraction

**Author's Note:**

> Happy birthday, Max Caulfield! Have some fluffy pricefield smut.
> 
> Whether it’s your 1st time, your 100th time, or your 1000th time, you deserve a Chloe: someone who will always check in and keep your safety and your boundaries in mind. By the same coin, anyone you’re with deserves a Chloe, too, so be a good partner (whether it’s a one night stand or a longer term thing) and always check in, respect boundaries, and insist on safety! Remember, folks, wlw need to use protection, too!

There are three things that Max has learned not to expect from Chloe. “Punctuality” and “knocking” are two of them. Since the third is “predictability,” Max really shouldn’t be as surprised as she is when Chloe shows up twenty minutes early and actually knocks on her door before barging in. And maybe if she didn’t have her hand down her pants at the time, she wouldn’t be.

In the approximately ten seconds it takes for Chloe to finagle the simple lock on Max’s door and let herself in, Max has just enough time to slam her laptop shut and leap from her desk chair into her bed, pulling the covers up over her still-unzipped pants and attempting to affect a nonchalant pose. If Max were thinking clearly, she might realize that it would take even less time to simply zip up her jeans and navigate to a different tab on her computer, but Max is operating on pure panic reflex rather than logic.

And so it is that Chloe flings the door open to find a somewhat rumpled and pink-cheeked Max sitting in her half-made bed, breathing heavily and staring at a paperback novel much too intensely to actually be reading it. She freezes for a second, hand still on the doorknob. She’s not quite sure what kind of greeting she’d expected - a squeal of surprise? Amused annoyance? A smartass quip about her legendary tardiness? - but being studiously ignored is definitely not it. She knocked and everything; it’s not like Max doesn’t know she’s there. “Uh, hey Max!”

“Hey, Chlo.” Max’s eyes stay focused on her book, totally unmoving.

Chloe slowly closes the door behind her and turns the lock again. “You’d think Blackwell would’ve gotten better locks by now. It is _way_ too easy to infiltrate these dorms.”

“Mm.”

“So, uh… Thought I’d surprise my favorite hipster with an extra-early, extra-special delivery!” Chloe puts out her arms for a hug. Max glances over at her but doesn’t move to get off the bed. “It’s, um, it’s me. The special delivery is me. Being early. For once.” 

Max gives an awkward chuckle at that. Her breathing has slowed to something passable as a normal human level, but she can feel that her heart is still jackhammering away at her ribs with equal measures of alarm and arousal. “Yeah, it, ah, sure is a surprise! I, uh, I’m not exactly ready to go, actually,” Max admits, lowering her book. “I kinda got caught up, um, reading… for class, and… I still need to take a shower and stuff, so…” She really, really wishes she were a better liar.

“Oh, that’s cool.” Chloe wanders further into the room, plopping herself down in Max’s still-warm desk chair. Max can feel her face getting redder. She pulls her book back up to mask it. “I’m not in a hurry. Do what you gotta do, hippie.” Chloe sniffs the air. “Y’know, shower probably isn’t a bad idea. It kinda smells like---”

Max bolts upright when she sees Chloe idly reach over and open up her laptop as she’s speaking. “ _What’re you doing??_ ”

Chloe jumps a little, startled by Max’s abrupt screeching. “Ch-checking the movie times? Jesus, Max, you almost gave me a heart attack. What’s gotten into you?”

“ _Nothing_ , just… Why don’t you check that on your phone?” Max fights to keep the shrillness from her voice but doesn’t manage it. 

Chloe raises an eyebrow. “Battery’s low. Can’t find my charger. I didn’t think it would be a big deal to borrow your computer.”

“It’s _not_ , but--”  
  
“You _do_ still want to go to the movies, right?”

“Yeah, of course, but--”

“So chill, Maximum Paranoia!” Chloe chuckles and turns back to the computer, opening it the rest of the way while Max contemplates whether lunging out of her bed and knocking the computer off her desk would raise more suspicions than simply letting Chloe use her computer. As long as she just opens another tab and looks up movie times, she probably won’t even notice anything weird. Unlike if Max were standing in front of her with her stupid _pants_ unzipped, demanding that she not use her computer because _reasons_. “Take your shower, finish your homework or whatever, and I’ll see if there’s... a later...” Chloe forgets to keep speaking as her eyes quickly skim the page open on Max’s computer. “Huh.” Her forehead creases and her eyes squint. 

“Chloe… The movie times?” Max suggests hopefully. Her voice is more of a dismayed groan than anything else, so it’s unsurprising that it fails to dissuade Chloe from her perusal of Max’s questionable reading materials.

“Max, is this… Final Fantasy fanfiction?”

“The movie times, Chloe?” Max presses a little more urgently. Maybe if she doesn’t read it too closely, it’ll be fine. Being caught reading nerdy fanfiction is kind of embarrassing, but not as embarrassing as--

“Max, is this Final Fantasy _porn_??”

Max is utterly fucked. “Uhhhhhhhh…..”

“Dude! It hella is!” Chloe’s laugh is good-natured and joyful, not the mocking laugh Max expects. “You dirty dog! Gotta admit, I wasn’t sure you had it in you.” 

“I-I…”

Chloe scrolls up a little and lets out a low, teasing whistle. “Damn, Max, didn’t know you were into this gay shit.” She turns around and grins at Max, wagging her eyebrows suggestively. “Still waters run deep, I guess. And surprisingly kinky.”

“I-It’s not…” Max lets out a frustrated whine and scrunches her eyes shut. “Fuck, I’m never gonna live this down, am I?”

“Nope!” Chloe agrees cheerfully, turning back to the computer. “Hmmm, let’s see… _Oh_ -ho-ho, what’s this? Private bookmarks? This should be good...”

If Max blushes any harder, she may faint. “Ugh, Chloe, you-- You can’t just-- That’s private!”

“Oh, what, like you haven’t snooped on my computer ever?”

“But not your… your _private_ things…” Max’s protest is a little toothless because honestly Chloe does have a point. She has literally spent hours snooping on Chloe’s computer since she returned to Arcadia Bay.

“Only because you don’t know where to look, I bet! Next time, check the folder called Bank Statements. It should be a real eye-opener for you.” She tosses a wink at Max over her shoulder, and Max’s heart almost stops. “Okay, so what do we have here… Whooooole lotta yaoi, some straight stuff (gaaaaaaaaaaaaaay); oh _here_ we go!”

Max collapses into her sheets and pulls the blanket up over her head, moaning in distress. It must not be possible to literally die of embarrassment or surely she’d be dead by now. She listens to the muffled sound of Chloe clicking and scrolling over the relentless thumping of her heart, the soundtrack to what is undoubtedly the crowning moment of humiliation in her already fairly humiliating existence.

Chloe doesn’t say anything for a few minutes. When the clicking stops and the room falls silent for nearly a minute, Max almost manages to convince herself that the whole thing was just some sort of fucked up dream. Then she feels a hand touch her head through the blanket. “You know most of this stuff is hella unrealistic, right?”

Max lets out an annoyed grunt. “I _know_ that,” she grumbles. And it’s sort of true; she assumes as much, even though it’s not like she’d know from experience. What’s wrong with a little fantasy, though? Chloe doesn’t need to lord it over her, just because she didn’t have to learn everything she knows about sex from reading dirty fanfiction…

“Oh, shit! Dude, I’m such an idiot! I totally interrupted you, didn’t I? Did you wanna, like, carry on, or did I completely kill your boner right now?”

Possibly the most frustrating part of this whole ordeal is the fact that, no, Chloe very much did not cool Max’s fervor. If anything, having her there makes it worse. Max doesn’t know how to say that in a way that won’t convince Chloe even more that she’s a raging pervert, specifically a raging pervert who wants to _jump_ her, and scare her off potentially forever. She eases the blanket off of her face but can’t quite meet Chloe’s eyes. “Um…”

“Wait, shit, do you want me to leave? ‘Cause I can go, like, stand awkwardly out in the hallway or something for another ten, fifteen minutes, whatever.”

“Uh…”

“Thirty? Forty? Lemme know when I’m getting close here, Max.”

“Stop _guessing_! Oh my _god_!” Max can’t suppress a laugh as she facepalms with her clean hand.

“I mean, I’m assuming you’ve got a pretty good sense of your timing because otherwise you took one hell of a chance. It’s not like you didn’t know I was coming over. Unless…” A sly grin spreads itself across Chloe’s lips. “Maybe you _wanted_ me to catch you?”

Max tosses a pillow at Chloe, which only clips her shoulder lightly as she laughingly ducks away. “I didn’t know you were going to be _early_! I thought I had time!”

“Alright, alright, well, I guess I’ll go outside and grab a smoke or something and you can come find me when you’re, uh, _done_.”

“No pressure or anything,” Max mumbles under her breath. 

Chloe starts heading for the door, but her steps slow before she reaches it and she turns around to face Max again. “ _Or_ …”

A thrill shoots down Max’s spine.

Chloe puts up her hands and offers up a disarming and slightly nervous smile. “Or, and hear me out here… I could stay.”

Chloe could stay. 

Max forgets how to make a human sound. Her reply, if it can be categorized as such, is more of a croak. 

Chloe’s suggestion hangs in the air for much, much too long. She doesn’t move toward the door, but she doesn’t move any closer, either. She doesn’t elaborate, doesn’t press the question, but she also doesn’t backpedal. She just… lets it hang there, out in the open, until Max remembers how to speak. “What… What does that… _mean_?”

Chloe shrugs, looking relieved. “It means… fuck, I don’t know, whatever you want it to mean. It can mean I just kinda chill here while you, y’know, take care of bidness. Hell, I can read that fanfic to you while you go to town, if you want.” She grins with renewed confidence. She’s gotten this far without being thrown out on her ass, and as embarrassed as Max looks she’s still clearly listening. “Be your own personal sexy audio book. _Orrrrr_ …”

And there’s that “or” again. The way she says it, the way she pauses and leaves the suggestion suspended in the air between them, makes Max nervous in the best possible way. “...Or?” Max presses, curiosity overwhelming her nerves.

“Or,” Chloe continues, her grin brilliant and toothy and a little bit dangerous, “It _can_ mean that I, ah, play a more… _active_ role?”

Max’s mind fills with static.

“...Max? Dude, you alright?”

When Max shakes herself out of it, Chloe is only a couple of feet away from her, bending down and peering at her with some concern. “I’m fine,” Max manages to squeak. 

“Whew, you had me worried there.” Chloe wipes a hand across her forehead in an exaggerated gesture of relief before straightening her back. “Thought I broke your brain.”

“No, I’m fine, I…” Max shuts her eyes. She’s pretty sure if she’s looking at Chloe she won’t be able to say what she wants to say. Even not looking at Chloe, the odds of her getting the words out aren’t great. “Um… so… what do you mean by… ‘active?’” She chews her lower lip anxiously and cracks one eye open to see Chloe’s reaction.

“You know, like… lend a helping hand?” Chloe raises a hand and wiggles her fingers demonstratively. “I mean, not literally, though. Unless you’ve got gloves?”

“G-gloves?”

“Yeah: latex, vinyl, nitrile, whatever. Disposable gloves. Y’know, for protection.” She mimes putting on a glove. “Just ‘cause you won’t get pregnant doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still play it safe.”

“Oh.”

“I know porn isn’t great about safer sex stuff so maybe it seems unimportant, but seriously you should always, _always_ use protection.” Chloe’s got her serious face on when she locks eyes with Max. “For reals, I want you to promise me, Max: if you ever fool around with someone and they say they don’t want to use protection, you kick their ass to the curb. You shouldn’t trust _anybody_ that much. Not even me.”

Max nods, her ears burning red. She’s flattered that Chloe thinks she’s desirable enough that anybody would want to do anything with her in the first place. Although here’s Chloe, right now, straight-up propositioning her and evidently quite serious about it, so apparently miracles do happen. “I promise.”

Chloe beams at her. “Awesome. So, I’m guessing that’s a ‘no’ on having gloves, then?”

Max shakes her head sheepishly and makes a mental note to grab a box of disposable gloves the next time she goes into town. Probably if they do fool around Chloe will realize that she’s a hopeless nerd who’s no good in bed and will never want to talk to her again, much less touch her, but even so. Can’t hurt to be prepared, just in case. 

“Yeah, kinda figured you probably didn’t.” Chloe sounds a little disappointed, but she’s still smiling and her eyes are still bright and eager. “It’s cool, though. We can still have fun even if I can’t get _that_ hands-on.” Her confidence falters a little. “I-if you want to, I mean.”

It’s that goddamn stutter, that flash of vulnerability in Chloe’s eyes, that convinces Max that this is real. This isn’t just a hollow tease - and hell, if this is real, then maybe all the other teases weren’t as hollow as Max has been assuming - it’s an actual offer. And as daunting as the proposition is, Max is pretty sure she’ll never forgive herself if she lets it slip through her fingers.

Max closes her eyes and nods, scared to see Chloe’s response. “I... think so?” She opens her eyes cautiously. Chloe hasn’t started laughing or fled the room, so that’s promising. “Um. H-how hands-on are you thinking?”

“Well, if you _do_ want to, we’ll have to be a little creative in order to avoid bodily fluids.” She thinks for a second. “I mean, technically I do have some condoms in my wallet I could MacGuyver into dental dams, but… preeeeetty sure that since we’ve barely even kissed, jumping straight to cunnilingus is probably a little too much for today?”

Max can barely keep her head together at the thought of kissing Chloe. The thought of having Chloe’s face between her legs - she hasn’t showered, what if she smells weird, she hasn’t shaved her legs in a couple days, what if she has to fart, what if she hurts Chloe’s neck, what if what if what if - is completely overwhelming. The thought of attempting to reciprocate is, somehow, even more daunting. For today, it’s definitely too much. She wonders what Chloe’s doing tomorrow, though…

“Yeah, I… I don’t think I’m ready for that yet,” Max admits.

“Cool, that’s fine. So what I’m thinking - _if_ you want to - is: we get cozy in your bed, make out a fuckton while you get back down to bidness, and maybe I join you?” She quirks an eyebrow at Max inquiringly. 

Making out with Chloe sounds amazing. Much less intimidating. Fingering herself while making out with Chloe sounds… also amazing, but way more intimidating. She swallows hard. “S-sounds good.”

“You sure about that? ‘Cause you look kinda nervous.”

Max takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. It’s now or never. “Yeah. I’m sure.” She smiles at Chloe as confidently as she can through her nerves. “I’m… kinda really fucking nervous,” she admits. “I’ve, um, never done anything like this before. But yeah. I’m sure. I want you to stay.”

Chloe smiles and moves to kneel on the edge of the bed. Max stiffens in anticipation when she feels the mattress move under her weight, and Chloe pauses. “Wow, you really _are_ nervous… Look, Max, how about this: we can try just making out for now, see where things go from there?”   
  
And suddenly Max feels like she can breathe. It’s _okay_ , she realizes, and she finally believes it. It’s okay for her to be nervous. It’s okay for her to not be certain. It’s okay for her to change her mind. Chloe isn’t making fun of her or getting frustrated or making demands. She’s pushing gently at the borders of Max’s comfort zone, encouraging Max to step outside them, but she’s not going to force her to go any further than she actually wants to go. 

Max’s body relaxes, and she gives Chloe a broad, genuine grin. “Yeah,” she says, reaching out her hands and beckoning Chloe to move closer, “let’s try that.”

Chloe grins back and starts to crawl on her knees toward Max’s open arms.

“Wait!” Max calls out, and Chloe freezes in her tracks. Max giggles at the slightly baffled look on Chloe’s face. “Your _shoes_. You’ll get dirt all over my sheets!”

Chloe chuckles and rolls her eyes but heaves herself up off the mattress, kicking off her boots before dropping back onto her knees on Max’s bed. “Any other requests, while I’m taking things off?” There’s a hint of a dare in her voice, and Max decides to rise to the occasion. 

“Hmmmm… Shirt off?”

“That’s the spirit!” Chloe obligingly whips off her shirt and lets it fall to the floor alongside her boots. Max didn’t really get a good look at Chloe’s belly button piercing back when they broke into the Blackwell pool. It’s nice. Purple. She wonders what it would feel like between her teeth. “Hey, Max, yo!” Chloe’s amused voice breaks through Max’s reverie. “My tits are up _here_ , dude.” Chloe emphasizes her words by cupping her breasts through her bra, the movement of her hands drawing Max’s eyes along with them, and yup, that is definitely where they are. Wowser.

It feels strange being able to stare at Chloe openly like this. Being _invited_ to stare. Max is used to stealing guilty little glances here and there - that sliver of stomach when Chloe stretches and her shirt rides up, those bra straps that seem to be always slipping into view, those glimpses of skin through the holes worn into the thighs of her jeans - and always wondering, ashamed, what Chloe would think of her if she caught her. 

Chloe gives herself another emphatic squeeze to make sure Max is still paying attention, and then she starts to crawl up the bed on her knees. Max is definitely still paying attention, all wide-open eyes as Chloe makes her way up the bed, breath catching in her throat when Chloe’s body hovers over hers. She tilts her head expectantly as Chloe leans in for a kiss, her still-extended arms reaching to wrap around Chloe and pull her closer. “Hang on, Super Max,” Chloe chuckles, pulling back slightly. “Which hand were you using?”

Max’s arms freeze in mid-air, inches from Chloe’s skin. “Uhh.” She draws them back.

“Avoiding bodily fluids, remember? Well, _that_ kind of bodily fluid, anyway. Still hella gonna make out with you, don’t worry. Which hand, Max?”

Max cringes minutely. It’s not like they haven’t been discussing this in detail for the past ten minutes, but it’s somehow still embarrassing as all hell. She holds up her right hand, turning her head so she doesn’t have to look at it or at Chloe. It just looks like a normal hand, she knows, but in her mind it’s glowing like a neon sign: ‘This is the hand I fuck myself with.’ 

“Okay, awesome-sauce. Keep that one to yourself, yeah?”

Max nods, chewing her lip. Her face is on fire. She’s startled by the cool of Chloe’s fingers on her chin, turning her head to meet her eyes. She’s even more startled by the look in those eyes. If there _is_ a neon sign in Max’s hand beaming out her every dirty secret, then it’s clearly number one on Chloe’s reading list. There’s no judgement in her eyes; they’re too filled with desire. 

“Other hand’s clean?” Chloe asks, voice so low it sends a shiver down Max’s spine.

Max nods again, lip still caught between her teeth.

“Sweet. Then Lefty is free to roam. Here, shove over a little.” Max scoots over until she’s nestled between Chloe and the wall. Chloe gently guides Max’s right arm so that it’s draped up over her own stomach instead of being wedged between them and drops her head down onto Max’s pillow. She reaches over tenderly and draws Max’s lip out from between her teeth. “And hey, no need to bite yourself.” There’s a quick flash of impish humor in her eyes and in her smile. “That’s _my_ job.”

This time when Chloe leans in to kiss her, Max meets her halfway. The contact - _so_ much more gratifying than the last time they kissed because this time Chloe doesn’t stumble away and start making stupid jokes after half a second - sends a full-body tremor through Max. She’s hesitant at first about reaching for Chloe again, but when Chloe’s hand comes to rest on Max’s side Max is emboldened to mirror her move. The feeling of bare skin under her fingers startles Max enough to break their kiss for a second - holy crap, how could she forget that Chloe took her shirt off - but she dives right back in, Chloe chuckling against her lips. Chloe’s hand starts to wander - not far, just trailing down to the edge of the blanket still covering Max’s lower half and back up again to Max’s ribs in a soothing rhythm. 

Chloe breaks off their kiss with a teasing nip to Max’s lower lip that startles a pleased gasp out of her. “Hey, no pressure or anything but I wasn’t joking about Lefty being free to roam.”

“O-oh! Right…”

“I mean, it’s cool if you don’t want to, but…” Chloe removes her hand from Max’s side and makes a sweeping gesture to indicate the nearly bare expanse of her torso, “there is a _lot_ more Price on the table if you want it.”

Max laughs through her nervousness. “You are such a fucking dork.”

“Yeah, but I’m a _hot_ dork, so…”

Max can’t really argue with that. Especially not when Chloe’s leaning in and kissing her again, stealing her breath away. Max slides her hand a little lower until she grazes the border of Chloe’s jeans. She gives her hip an experimental squeeze and feels Chloe smile against her lips. Max traces the ridge of her hipbone and Chloe shivers, grasping the back of Max’s shirt in her hand.

Chloe acts so hard and rough, but under Max’s fingers she’s all soft curves and smooth skin. Max wants to touch her everywhere, all the places she’s dreamed about but never dared to touch. It’s hard to dare even now, even with Chloe’s explicit permission. The more she pushes at her own mental boundaries and allows her clean hand to wander over Chloe’s exposed torso, the easier it becomes. Chloe’s enthusiastic responses to her touch - fingers clutching at the back of Max’s shirt, tongue pressing deeper and more desperately into Max’s mouth, the occasional soft and shuddering moan - stoke the twin fires of her confidence and her desire. Max strokes teasing fingertips up the soft, inviting skin of Chloe’s stomach, causing a delightful spasm in her friend’s (girlfriend’s? Friend-with-benefits’s? They should definitely discuss this. Later.) body. Her wandering fingers balk at the edge of Chloe’s bra. Chloe has been so receptive and eager, and all evidence suggests that she’s been into everything that Max has done so far. She was being pretty suggestive about her breasts earlier, too. Would it be alright to just… _go for it_? Max would anxiously chew her lip if Chloe weren’t already chewing it for her. 

Chloe pulls back slightly, releasing Max’s lower lip from between her teeth. “What’s up, First Mate? I can literally _feel_ you thinking right now.” 

“Where can I touch you?” Max asks a little breathlessly.

Chloe considers for a moment, her fingers trailing pensively back and forth over the sliver of skin where Max’s shirt has ridden up. “Bared skin is fair game. Anything else… keep it over the clothes. For now.”

“Wait, so does that mean I can…?” Max runs her fingers along the border of Chloe’s bra inquisitively.

Chloe smiles easily. “Sure, wherever you want as long as it’s already exposed or you’re going over the clothes. Tits. Ass. Whatever. I’ll let you know if it’s not cool. What about you? Anyplace you don’t want me to touch?” Her smile turns wolfish. “Anyplace you do want me to touch?”

“Um. Y-you can go under my shirt, but, um… but not the bra, okay?”

“I don’t have to go under your shirt if you don’t want me to. It’s cool.”

“No, no, I want you to. Just… kinda awkward to say it out loud.” She chews her lip for a second, then pushes out the rest of the words burning in her brain. “You can, um. You can go over the bra, though. If you want to. Under the shirt and over the… yeah. I’d… _like_ that.”

Chloe studies her carefully for a moment, and her eyes are so gentle it makes Max’s heart feel like it’s going to burst. “Okay, as long as you’re sure. Anything else?”

Max thinks about everything she’s read in fanfic. Things she thinks she might like… Things she’s pretty sure she wouldn’t... And some things that seem pretty ubiquitous but bring up bad memories for her. “This might be a little weird,” she says a bit hesitantly, “but… don’t touch my neck? I don’t… I don’t think I’d like that.” She remembers how it felt for Nathan to grip her by the throat, how it felt for Jefferson to-- She shudders at the memories. She doesn’t want to associate any of that with Chloe’s touch.

“Hey, no, of course; that’s not weird at all. No neck stuff. No problem.” Chloe brushes soothing fingers through Max’s hair and brings her hand to rest lightly on Max’s cheek.

“And don’t pin my wrists or my ankles,” she continues more firmly. “You probably weren’t planning to, but… Just _don’t_.”

“I won’t. I promise. Max, are you okay? Do you want to stop?” Those gentle eyes again, perfect and blue and so full of caring. Chloe’s thumb tenderly stroking her cheek. 

Max closes her eyes and places her own hand over Chloe’s, turns her head slightly to press her cheek more firmly into her palm. “No,” she says, and her voice is more confident than it’s been all day, “I don’t want to stop.” She kisses Chloe’s palm. She takes a moment to gather herself, and Chloe waits. Smiling, she presses another kiss into Chloe’s hand then softly guides it lower until it’s cupping her breast through her shirt. She opens her eyes and has to bite back a laugh. Chloe is so _cute_. Pink-cheeked and wide-eyed, so obviously excited but still so hesitant, not daring to move even with Max giving her a clear green light. Max squeezes Chloe’s hand, pressing it lightly against her chest. “I want you to touch me.”

Chloe’s eyes dart back and forth between Max’s, checking for certainty and finding it. Max nods her confirmation, letting go of Chloe’s hand. Chloe traces a slow circle around Max’s nipple with her thumb. Max squeaks. Chloe giggles. “Sensitive?” she asks.

Max answers her by leaning in to kiss her forcefully, hoping that Chloe’s tongue will keep any further embarrassing noises trapped in her mouth where they belong. Chloe kisses back with gusto, caressing Max’s breast through her clothes and sending little sparks of pleasure through Max’s body. Max paws at Chloe’s bare skin with blind enthusiasm. Everything feels amazing. 

Chloe pauses to take Max’s hand gently in her own, avoiding her wrist. She pulls back to make eye contact as she guides Max’s hand to her own breast. “This okay?”

Max nods enthusiastically and dives back into their kiss. She does her best to mirror Chloe in the way she touches her, and soon her mouth is filled with dozens of sounds not her own: panting breaths, contented sighs, soft swears.

Chloe slides her hand down, slipping it under the hem of Max’s shirt. “Yes,” Max whispers into their kiss before Chloe can even ask. Fingers glide up Max’s bare skin beneath her shirt, short blue nails trailing up her flesh just firmly enough that it doesn’t quite tickle. Max shivers into the touch. Chloe’s contact grows firmer, bolder, drawing patterns over the thin fabric of Max’s bra that have Max squirming pleasantly. Max tries to copy her but it’s hard to focus when she feels so good. It’s hard to think about anything other than the wet heat of Chloe’s mouth on hers, the slickness of her tongue, and god, what would _that_ feel like on her breasts, her stomach, her thighs, her--

Max whimpers, her body heating up so much she feels like she might catch fire. She’s suffocating under all of her clothes, the weight of her blankets, the heat of Chloe’s body pressed so close against her own. Chloe’s mouth draws away from hers, but before Max can complain about its absence it begins to trace the line of Max’s jaw in a rhythm of open-mouthed kisses and gentle bites. Lips work their way to Max’s ear, fingers brush hair aside so that Chloe can--

 _Oh_.

It feels weird, honestly, and Max knows with the small sliver of rational brain function that she’s still clinging to that it should be pretty gross, but Chloe’s tongue mapping out the contours of her ear is… kind of totally amazing?

Chloe pulls back and giggles into Max’s hair. “Dude, you are so fucking adorable. Do you even know that?”

Max scrunches up her face. Without Chloe actively there, her ear is wet and kind of cold and the grossness factor is more apparent. “Shut up; _you_ are,” she mumbles.

Chloe snorts out a laugh. “Thanks, I think. Seriously, though, you make the cutest freaking sounds.”

Max would be blushing if all the blood in her body weren’t otherwise occupied. She didn’t even realize she was making any noise at all. She tugs on Chloe’s bra strap. “Less talking, more licking.”

“You’re the boss,” Chloe whispers into Max’s ear in a sultry tone, close enough that her lips brush against it and make Max shiver. 

Max feels the blanket draped over her lower half being pulled taut over her legs as Chloe leans over her. She’s a little trapped but it’s not too bad; a little annoying and stiflingly hot, but it could be worse. It’s easy enough to ignore it with Chloe’s tongue teasing at the sensitive skin of her ear and Chloe’s hands caressing her breasts confidently through her bra. Chloe catches her earlobe between her teeth and, yup, Chloe wasn’t lying, Max is _definitely_ making noises. She really, _really_ hopes that Kate went out today, because she’d really love to be able to look her friend in the eye the next time they go out for tea together.

Chloe’s weight shifts and the blanket pulls tighter still. Chloe makes an annoyed sound and draws back, tugging futilely at the blanket caught between their bodies. “This is kinda getting in the way. Mind if I…?”

Max shakes her head. “Nope, not at all.”

Chloe rolls off the blanket, draws it back and, oh yeah, that’s right, Max’s pants are still undone. Max doesn’t have time to process the mild embarrassment that she should probably feel at this realization before Chloe hooks a leg over Max’s thigh and slides her hands back up Max’s shirt, closing the distance between them until it ceases to exist.

That’s so much better. Max is still incredibly hot even without the blanket, but now there’s hardly anything getting in the way of their closeness. Chloe’s hands roam freely over Max’s body, unimpeded by bulky bedding: gliding over her bare stomach, groping her breasts through her bra, running clipped nails gently down her back until she shivers, stroking her hair, squeezing her thighs through her jeans, cupping her butt cautiously at first then doing so with increasing gusto when Max nods her consent. Max tries to keep pace with her but it’s hard to focus. She wants to explore every inch of Chloe, but Chloe’s hands - and her mouth, god, her _mouth_ \- all over her body are beyond distracting. Her mind has gone all soft and fuzzy like a poorly focused photograph. Her nerves are buzzing insistently under her skin. She feels like she’s floating at least an inch off her mattress, even with the weight of Chloe’s leg on top of hers. She feels… high? Is this what being high feels like? If it is, then no wonder Chloe gets baked so often. She would ask but her tongue is otherwise engaged, licking and suckling at the soft, pale skin of Chloe’s neck.

In fact, Max is pretty sure she’s slobbering. Wait, this seems like it should be disgusting. Is she being gross? Chloe’s moaning, so if Max is being gross Chloe doesn’t seem to mind. She can feel one of Chloe’s nipples pressing hard into her palm as she gropes Chloe’s chest through her bra. Chloe nips a line along Max’s collarbone, and Max yelps and whimpers. 

Chloe pulls back slightly, grinning as her eyes dart back and forth between Max’s. Jesus, Chloe’s face is so bright red. Max’s is probably even redder. “Still… doin’... good?” Chloe pants.

Max nods enthusiastically. “ _So_ fucking good.”

Chloe’s grin brightens to rival the midday sun. “You wanna take my bra off?”

 _Yes, please! But:_ “I’m not sure I can with only one hand...” Honestly, Max isn’t sure she could manage it even with both hands, but she’s not about to admit that out loud.

Chloe waggles her eyebrows suggestively, sliding her hands back out from under Max’s shirt and hooking her thumbs in her bra straps. “You want me to--”

“ _Yes_!”

Chloe chuckles. She rolls over and hoists herself up, planting her knees on either side of Max’s thighs so that she’s straddling her. Max’s eyes are wide as dinner plates. She licks her lips, feeling like the biggest perv on the planet, totally fixated on Chloe’s hands as they slip the straps of her bra down her shoulders. 

“Holy shit,” Max whispers as Chloe peels off her bra, unhooking it before flinging it in the vague direction of her discarded shirt and boots. 

It’s not that Max hasn’t seen breasts before. She sees her own multiple times a day, after all. She’s seen other ones, too: brief, accidental glimpses in locker rooms when she didn’t turn her head quickly enough; awkwardly prolonged staring at “artistic” nude photographs; sometimes in porn if she’s feeling bold enough to watch any without worrying that the NSA is keeping tabs on what she’s watching and reporting it directly to her parents. But these are _Chloe’s_. And that’s… just… “Wowser.”

Chloe tries, she really does, but she can’t contain the laugh that bursts out of her at that. 

“I-I mean--” Max stutters.

“I was wondering when I’d get a wowser out of you,” Chloe snickers. “So…” She gives Max a look that’s somewhere between proud and bashful. “You like?”

“I-What? Yeah!” Max nods so hard she’s momentarily worried about whiplash. “You’re… just… so...” Max keeps trying to meet Chloe’s expectant gaze, but her eyes keep dragging back down to Chloe’s bare chest. She’s perfect. She’s so totally, totally perfect. Max wants to stare, but staring feels rude. Eye contact. She should be making eye contact. But wh--

“It’s okay to look,” Chloe says with a smile. “I _want_ you to look.”

“ _Holycrapyou’resofreakingbeautiful_.” The words come rushing out of Max’s mouth in an embarrassing torrent. “Like, so, so, _so_ beautiful.”

Chloe makes a pleased sound. Her fingers tease at an exposed sliver of Max’s stomach just above her jeans, making Max squirm in the best way. “You know… It’s okay to touch, too. Bared skin is fair game, remember?”

Max starts to reach for her with both hands before she remembers and pulls her right arm back. She places her left hand on Chloe’s bare side, savoring the smoothness and warmth of her skin. She’s so _solid_. Max can feel every breath she takes. She inches her hand up further until… Wow. So that’s what that feels like. Max giggles stupidly. “This is awesome.” She’s pretty sure her brain is dribbling out her ears.

Chloe sighs and raises a hand to press Max’s fingers more firmly against her breast. “Hella awesome,” she agrees. She lowers herself to kiss Max, gliding her free hand up under Max’s shirt once more. Max lets out a small, strangled “mmf!” into Chloe’s mouth as Chloe’s fingertip circles her hardened nipple. Her hips buck up of their own accord, nearly knocking Chloe off of her. Chloe rides the motion, thighs clamped securely around Max’s.

Max feels like she’s burning alive. The weight of Chloe’s body on top of hers, the sensation of her naked skin, the teasing touches… She’s going to combust. She is literally going to burst into flames. Reluctantly, she releases Chloe’s breast so that she can scrabble desperately at her own shirt, struggling to pull it loose. Chloe draws back to assess what’s happening, then grabs hold of Max’s shirt. “Off?” she asks.

“ _Off_ ,” Max confirms, more than a little desperation coloring her voice. With Chloe’s assistance, she frees herself from the confines of her shirt and lets it fall to the floor at her bedside. Chloe leans in to kiss her once again but Max holds up a hand to stop her. “Bra,” Max says, unable to manage more than one syllable at a time.

Chloe raises her eyebrows. “You sure?”

Max is already dragging herself into a sitting position, trying to force her hormone-addled brain and jittery hands to remember how to remove her bra. “Sure. Yes. Bra. _Off_.” It’s dicey for a few moments, but eventually Max does manage to free herself of the accursed contraption. She nearly strangles herself with it in the process, but ultimately she is the victor and the bra follows her shirt to the floor by her bedside. She lays back down and waits for the heavy makeout to recommence.

And waits.

And waits.

She turns her head with an impatient huff and finds Chloe still sitting next to her, just… _looking_ at her. Looking at her like she’s the most beautiful, incredible thing that Chloe’s ever seen. Which is ridiculous, because Max knows that she isn’t. She’s all skin and bones, not luscious curves like the women in Chloe’s magazines. Her skin’s so pale she looks like she lives in a cave, and she’s got freckles in all kinds of weird places and pimples in even weirder places. And honestly she’s so flat chested that her bra is more of a symbolic gesture than an actual necessity, which is clearly so not Chloe’s type. And oh dear god she’s completely shirtless in front of Chloe.

Embarrassment comes in a sudden, awful rush, and she belatedly tries to cover herself with her stick-thin arms. It’s a pointless gesture, but she can’t help it. What on earth was she thinking? Oh, right, _she wasn’t_ ; her brain was busy melting. Chloe’s so beautiful, she could have any woman she wants; why the hell would she--

“Are you okay, Max?” Chloe’s gentle voice breaks through the mind-rattling swirl of negative self-talk consuming Max’s mind. “You want your shirt back?”

Max takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. She shakes her head. She’s come this far, hasn’t she? She can’t make Chloe unsee her naked torso. And Chloe isn’t laughing at her or teasing her or anything. So maybe this doesn’t have to be a scary thing. Maybe this can be okay.

“You sure? You don’t have to be topless just because I am. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining or anything! Topless Max is…” Chloe’s eyes run up and down over Max’s torso admiringly. “Yeah. _Awesome_. So. Just wanna make sure you’re comfortable.”

‘Topless Max is awesome.’ If Chloe says it, then she must believe it. Maybe Chloe can believe it enough for the both of them. Max draws in a deep breath, taking in the tender reverence and barely masked enthusiasm in Chloe’s gaze before she nods. “I’m good.” She beckons Chloe to come closer, crooking the index finger of her left hand. “Kiss me?”

Chloe smiles and lowers herself back to Max’s side. This feels more comfortable, having Chloe next to her instead of staring down at her and just as exposed as she is. It feels more equal this way. Chloe rolls closer and Max meets her halfway, pulling her into a deep kiss. 

Once their lips meet, Max’s embarrassment is flooded out by the glorious sensation of skin against skin. Chloe’s hands travel up her sides unimpeded by cloth, and it’s amazing. The touch is slightly ticklish but so much better than being tickled. She can feel Chloe’s chest expanding against hers with every breath. She can feel _so much_.

This is _incredible_.

And it just keeps getting _better_.

Every touch of Chloe’s lips and fingers on Max’s skin makes her feel ready to shake apart. And the feeling of being able to touch so much of Chloe, even if she can only use one hand… It’s the best feeling ever. It makes her bold. She can rake her teeth along Chloe’s neck like she’s dreamed about a hundred times and know that Chloe _likes_ it. She can suckle on her earlobe, tease her belly button piercing, nibble on her clavicle, and hear Chloe’s soft laughs and pleased sighs instead of the rejection that she always feared. She’s almost delirious with joy. And arousal. Definitely arousal.

After an unquantifiable amount of time - Max certainly hasn’t been keeping track - Chloe pulls back gently and grins over at Max. Her eyes are bright and sparkling, her lips slightly puffy, her smile positively debauched. “How’re you feeling, Max?”

“ _So_ good,” Max breathes.

“You, uh, wanna finish what you started?” Max doesn’t quite follow her words until Chloe gives a pointed look at her right hand.

“ _Oh_.” Max’s eyes widen with understanding.

“No pressure. S’fine if you don’t want to. I’m good with just making out. Can totally make out for _days_.”

“I, uh… I kinda really do, though. Just, um...” 

“Feel kinda shy about it?” Chloe finishes for her.

Max nods. “I want to, but I’ve never, um, _done that_ with anyone else in the room…”

Chloe contemplates this for a second then sits up and reaches for the blanket she had pulled aside before. “What if we cover you up? You can get back down to bidness and I won’t be able to see anything you don’t want me to see.” 

Max’s shyness battles with her arousal for about two seconds before losing. “Worth a shot,” she says breathlessly. It doesn’t take long after Chloe covers her with the blanket for Max to get lost in kissing her again. It’s much easier to feel confident and unafraid with Chloe’s lips on hers, Chloe’s tongue in her mouth, Chloe’s teeth teasing her lips and chin, Chloe’s hands roving over her bare torso. Easier still when Max drags the short nails of her left hand down the small of Chloe’s back and hears her make a needy whine that makes her head spin with desire. Hearing Chloe make that spectacular noise and knowing that she’s the one who caused it sends the last shred of Max’s modesty packing. Her right hand slips under the blanket and gets back to work between her legs without another moment of hesitation.

“ _Fuck_ , that’s so hot,” Chloe breathes against her lips between heated kisses.

“ _Mmnpfh_ ,” Max agrees, using her free hand to pull Chloe closer still and mashing their mouths together with artless intensity. It feels like she can’t possibly get close enough; Chloe could be under her skin, could be the blood in her veins, the marrow in her bones, and she still wouldn’t be close enough. Under normal circumstances, Max would be completely in her own head about being too desperate and clingy, but Chloe seems to completely second the motion. The deeper Max kisses her, the deeper Chloe kisses back; the tighter Max holds her, the tighter Chloe squeezes back; the more boldly Max fondles her, the more adventurous Chloe’s caresses become.

“You’re so fucking gorgeous,” Chloe murmurs against Max’s ear, chasing her words with her tongue. Max feels like she should disagree, but she _feels_ gorgeous under Chloe’s touch. She should probably feel embarrassed - she’s shirtless and fingering herself vigorously not a centimeter away from her best friend’s flawless body - but she feels fucking radiant. She feels like she’s glowing. Like she’s floating, and she never wants to come back down.

Chloe sucks a hickey into the corner of her jaw, breath hot and teeth firm against her skin, and her sigh tickles Max’s ear in the best way. “Hey,” she whispers heatedly, “ _mmm_ , would it be cool if I - _fffuck_ you’re amazing - if I, _mmm_ , joined you?”

Holy shit, this _has_ to be a dream. Max must’ve dozed off in front of her computer with her hand still down her pants and started having this glorious and filthy dream and any second now Chloe will barge in and wake her up and she’ll never live down the embarrassment. 

Except that, wait, Chloe actually did barge in on her and somehow it’s ended up like _this_. Not with Chloe being disgusted by her and not with Max dying from embarrassment. With Chloe’s teeth grazing her ear, Chloe’s mouth tracing along her jaw, Chloe’s hand squeezing her ass, Chloe panting out an overheated request to get herself off in Max’s bed as she’s pressed up against Max’s body, responding to Max’s touch, shaking beneath Max’s fingertips. And if Max is really awake and Chloe is really asking to touch herself in front of her, then there’s only one answer for Max to give: “ _Yes, please._ ”

“Ohthankgod,” Chloe blurts out with a soft chuckle, “I wasn’t sure how much longer I could keep this up without exploding otherwise.” And then it’s happening. They’re so close together that Max can feel the back of Chloe’s hand grazing her own as she unzips her jeans and slides her hand inside. She can feel the catch of Chloe’s breath against her lips when she makes contact. She can feel every little movement Chloe makes - every circle of fingertips against clit, every glide through her folds, every dip into her entrance, every grunt, every groan, every sigh - and each one spurs her own pleasure on.

Max finds herself synching up with Chloe’s movements without even thinking about it, their hips moving in tandem as they rock against each other. With Chloe right there - every thrust of her hips driving Max’s hand into firmer contact with her own wet heat - this feels completely different from anything she’s ever experienced by herself. She’s thought about Chloe like this before - what her fingers might feel like between her legs, how it would feel to have her thrusting into her, the taste of her tongue and her skin - but the reality, even if it isn’t precisely what she had fantasized about, is so much better than the fantasy.

It’s maybe too good, because after all that buildup Max feels like she’s not going to last terribly long. “Ohhhhh, fuck,” she whimpers. “Mmmmmmn, Chloe…” She wants to draw it out and make this moment last as long as she can, but at the same time she feels like she’s running along the edge of a cliff and can’t help but stumble toward the drop. Her hand picks up its pace against her throbbing clit and she moans into Chloe’s lips.

“Holy fuck, Max,” Chloe pants. Her own hand is rubbing at a furious pace between her legs, her breath hard and ragged against Max’s face. She makes a sound like someone squeezing the air out of a balloon - which is somehow incredibly sexy even though it really, really shouldn’t be - and before Max’s mind can catch up to what’s happening Chloe is shuddering and shaking against her, muscles spasming in a total loss of rhythm. “Oh, fuck,” Chloe whimpers, “fuck, fuck, fuhhhhhcccckkkk…”

Holy shit, Chloe came. Chloe came in Max’s bed, pressed up against Max, so close that Max could feel every pant, hear every slick sound, could taste her sweat, could smell her excitement…

Max makes a sound that she’s only dimly aware of - it’s probably not as sexy as Chloe’s, but now’s not exactly the time for insecurity and it’s not like she can do anything about it anyway - and her own body plunges over the cliff’s edge. Her mind goes blank - or maybe it’s exploding, or erupting, or caving in - as her body contracts in wet, hot, juddering spasms around her fingers.

It takes Max at least a full minute to regain her senses, reality floating back to her in glorious, beautiful, sun-soaked streams of consciousness. The warmth of Chloe’s body against her own. Their mingled, heaving breaths. The murmur of Chloe’s voice uttering astonished oaths that would make a pirate blush. The familiar lights strung around her bed. The softness of her mattress beneath her limp body. The dull ache in her wrist. The wetness on her fingers.

“Oh my god,” Max whispers.

Chloe snorts. “You said it.”

“That was…”

“Hella awesome?”

“Fuck yeah.” Max draws her fingers slowly out of herself and burrows her face into Chloe’s bare shoulder - holy shit she’s practically naked with Chloe; they really _did_ that; that all _actually happened_ \- and laughs in amazement. 

Chloe makes a contented sound and brushes the fingers of her clean hand through Max’s hair, which Max can already tell is an absolute mess but she cannot at the moment be bothered to give one single fuck about it. “Guess we missed the matinee,” Chloe teases. “Worth it, though.”

“Totally,” Max agrees. As the cozy fuzziness ebbs from her brain, a thought nags her. She pulls away slightly so she can look Chloe in the eyes. “Wait, so… What does this count as?”

“Huh?” Chloe replies, eloquent as ever.

“Like… Did we…? Am, I, uh… Am I still a virgin? Or did that count as sex?”

Chloe rolls onto her side and trails her fingers down Max’s jaw to her chin. “Up to you. I’m good either way.”

“But… What?” Max’s face scrunches in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Chloe shrugs. “I mean it’s up to you if you want to consider that losing your virginity or not. There’s no, like, objective measure of virginity, so it’s up to you.” She must be able to read the confusion on Max’s face, so she goes on, “The whole hymen-busting thing is a myth, plus it’s sexist as fuck anyway, so losing your virginity is more of, like… an emotional state, not a physical one. So you’re the only one who can decide whether you feel like a virgin or not.” 

“Oh…” Max has never really thought about it that way before. She’s always assumed there would be some sort of definitive barrier crossed in order to distinguish Virgin Max from Ex-virgin Max. Some kind of penetration, or an exchange of bodily fluids, something incontravertibly definable as _sex_. Or pain; isn’t there supposed to be blood? Or at least discomfort? Or is that just part of that whole hymen-busting thing Chloe said was a myth? Nothing had hurt or bled or been remotely physically uncomfortable. And Chloe hadn’t really penetrated her - unless she counted Chloe’s tongue in her mouth, which was definitely part of Chloe’s body entering her own body in a very pleasurable way - but what they had done was definitely intimate. Having orgasms next to each other, nestled up against each other, practically feeling Chloe’s climax vibrating through her body… that was pretty fucking intimate, way more than anything Max had ever experienced before. “I’m not sure. I think I’ll need some time to process before I decide.”

“That’s a good idea,” Chloe agrees. She grins, open and radiant. “Either way, that was awesome and we should absolutely do it again sometime.”

Max blushes but nods enthusiastically. “Hell yeah. Maybe, um… Maybe next time we can be more… hands-on?”

“Sounds like a plan. I can grab a box of gloves from my place next time I come over, if you want.” Chloe’s smile dips into uncertainty again, and she’s quick to add, “Which doesn’t mean we have to fool around next time I come over; it’s just good to have them around in case we decide we want to go again. Or, y’know, you can use them for cleaning or for photo stuff or whatever.”

“I would _definitely_ like to go again.”

Chloe lights up with joy. “No shit?” She leans in to press a kiss against Max’s cheek when Max nods. Max giggles at the kiss, feeling giddy. She can’t remember the last time she felt this light and carefree. “Hey, Max… Thanks. For trusting me. And for not, y’know, rewinding.”

Max blinks rapidly in confusion. “Why the hell would I rewind? That was basically the best thing ever!” 

“Wow, thanks for the ego boost! And I meant before. When I caught you?”

Max’s jaw drops. “Holy shit.”

Chloe cackles at her reaction. “Oh, you’re cute. Lemme guess, you were so freaked out when I opened the door you forgot rewinding was an option?”

Max nods in mortification. “Oh my god, I can’t believe you caught me masturbating and I didn’t even _think_ to rewind…”

“Well, call me selfish but I’m glad you didn’t.” Chloe kisses the side of her head. “Saves me a lot of stress.”

“How d’you mean?”

Chloe gives a sheepish little shrug. “Just, I’ve been racking my brain for months trying to figure out how to ask you out, or if you were even into me, or into girls at all, and honestly it probably would’ve gone on for at least another month before I got up the nerve to make my move. This makes it easier.”

“You… wha?”

“So how ‘bout it, hippie? Wanna go out with me?”

“Like… on a date?”

“Like on a date. Like on a dozen dates. Like on all the dates. What do you say?”

Max gapes at Chloe. Somehow even after everything they just experienced together Max didn’t really expect for Chloe to want anything more from her than maybe some sort of best friends-with-benefits deal. But Chloe’s expression is utterly earnest and vulnerable. Chloe wants to _date_ her. Chloe wants to date _her_. Max lunges forward and wraps Chloe up in another passionate kiss, which Chloe eagerly reciprocates.

After a few seconds, Chloe pulls back with a look of nervous anticipation. “So, uh, I’m guessing that’s probably a yes, but I’m gonna need a clear, definitive answer here to make sure we’re actually on the same page. Clear consent and communication in all things, y’know?”

“Yes!” Max shouts, “yes, yes, _yes_!” She laughs joyously before she pulls Chloe into another kiss, then another, and another.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! As you may have noticed, I am a firm believer in the importance of consent and clear boundaries, so before you comment on this fic please take note: I DO NOT CONSENT TO SEXUALLY EXPLICIT OR SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS. I know that some fic writers welcome and encourage such comments, and that’s awesome, but comments of a sexual nature on my fics - even my smutty fics - make me intensely uncomfortable. Thank you for respecting my boundaries.
> 
> Kudos and non-sexual comments are always welcome and greatly appreciated! And btw, if fanfic is your sex ed like it is for Max, I do not consider asking for resources on safer sex practices and such to be a transgression of the "no sexual comments" boundary.


End file.
